News and Articles

Published on Friday, June 20, 2014

Olla Project

... from May Permiculture Meeting at Andrea and Pat's

At last months (May) meeting at Andrea and Pat's we had a great time, good company, helped Pat fence a chicken yard and Andrea provided everyone a hand made and fired Olla. Because so few people showed up some of us got 2. Andrea was requesting that people experiment with them as a watering tool for the INW. We I finally got it into the ground...

My son Jason had given me a potted Wisteria many years ago when we lived in Seattle. I never put it in the ground because I wanted to wait until we had found a more permanent house. When we moved to Spokane I kept the plant in the pot the first year and it didn't do well. I got it into the ground last summer and then we had a -20 degree day and it looked as though it was dead.

I have been trying to find a good project to test the Olla for Andrea and last week I noticed that the Wisteria was still trying to make it by putting out a new branch very close to the ground so I am using Andrea's Olla to bring it back to life. It is in a place that gets no regular water so is perfect for the absent minded gardener.

I have attached pictures to see the installation and will updated it as time goes on.

Thanks Andrea. Even if this precious plant does not leave Intensive Care you gave me one more chance to save this gift of love.

Mike Hagar (website host)

1 comments on article "Olla Project"

0

0

Annie M

6/23/2014 12:21 AM

Thanks, Mike. I sure hope the olla works in this application. I planted 2 of mine in a shallow swimming pool I'm using for lettuces and spinach. So far so good. I added quite a bit of well rotted compost to the pools this year so I'm sure the humus is also helping retain moisture. As we discussed at the May meeting the main drawback for northern gardens is that the ollas can't withstand a winter freeze since the clay is not completely vitrified. I think the olla might be the perfect solution for your wisteria as the plant will determine the irrigation rate based on it's needs. I wouldn't put any compost or manure teas directly into the olla unless it's finely strained because the micro sized pores can be blocked by debris. You may want to find a rock to place over the top of the pot to keep mosquitos from breeding. Just be sure it is not airtight as this can prevent the capillary action.